The last one was so much fun, I think I'll have to attend this one too. I'm not Scottish though: will you let in an Australian with Irish ancestors who lives in England?
There is no culinary disaster that cannot be saved by the addition of more chilli. Add a little, and the taste will be improved. If that's not enough, add more and no one will be able to taste anything else. If that's still not enough, add even more and make it completely inedible. Then phone for a pizza.
(Wearing his Tkano mask, hoping no one notices)
My dear Daffodil, your solution is an easy one. Post a plea on the SH forum (the Cafe would be the best place for it, perhaps in a thread where people discuss various problems that they're having). You'll soon find yourself with a long line of potential partners to take you to all the adult cinemas you could want.
The other solution involves a little more work, but might be more satisfying: set up some cameras in your bedroom. Film until you think you've got enough. Then open your own adult cinema. I know I'd come to watch.
You can look at it two ways: making sure there are enough women to go around (not very nice), or avoiding the event feeling too male-dominated and threatening for the women who go (which I think is quite thoughtful).
I'm not a woman, and I can't pretend to think in the way that a hypothetical "typical woman" would. But if I was the only woman among twenty men, I'd have one drink and bolt.
If it wasn't in May, if it wasn't in London, and if it wasn't mainly for the newcomers, you'd have another man on your hands.
Mine was called "Mr Muscle" recently, for the thirty seconds it took me to stop laughing.
Do you get the Mr Muscle kitchen cleaner over here? Do they use the "Loves the jobs you hate" slogan?
Jim Dodge: anything, really (he hasn't written nearly enough). There is no book more perfect than Fup, but Not Fade Away is longer.
Haruki Murakami: A Wild Sheep Chase. It made me even more confused about identity and free will than I was before.
You'll never find a copy, but David Foster: The Glade Within The Grove. "...tempts us to feel that here the work of the novel is done so well that there can be no achievement beyond it."
I'll put in a vote for Atonement as well. McEwan is a master of manipulation.
Books. Camera. Books. Film. Books. Music. Books.
A guide book for the place you're visiting. A light fluffy book for the plane. A more serious book for when your brain recovers from the flight. And if you're me, an empty notebook so you can write down ideas for work.
You never know when you're going to see the perfect photo. If you're travelling, you never know if you'll see it again. No camera, instant regrets.
Life without music isn't life.
I'd be willing to judge the reality from the fantasy. It doesn't sound all that difficult. Just include me in the "research" sessions (good writers research their stories thoroughly). Then all I'd have to do when a story is submitted is check my diary.
I'd be happy to put in the time and effort. It'd be for the benefit of the site, after all.
Is Molly sexy? Are bears catholic?
Well, I don't know about the bears, but Molly is SEXY. But of course it's so hard to tell from that one little picture. You should... err... put up a page of pictures. Yeah. So we can, you know, get a proper look at just how sexy she is.
Think that'll work?
While we're ego boosting, I just noticed that people actually nominated me in the Awards thread. Wow. DJohn and Harvey are both delighted and not a little surprised.
If I was going, it would have to be
DJohn - Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits - Magnetic Fields
Luckily for you, I already had other things organised this weekend.
I like Antiques Roadshow too...
My jazz experience is very limited too. Every now and then I'll buy a CD at random, and sometimes get lucky. Alan Pasqua "Milagro" was good. Easy to listen to, but not boring or shallow.
The one that worked for me (as far as any technique did, which to be honest they didn't) was to not study at all the half day before each exam. If it's an afternoon exam, take the morning off. If it's a morning exam, then the evening of the day before.
Don't study. Don't feel guilty about not studying. Watch TV, go to the cinema, read a book, whatever relaxes you. If it hasn't stuck by then, half a day more isn't going to help. It's much more important to go into the exam relaxed.
The "mum, I need you to go back in time to nine months before I was born and have an affair with a genius" approach doesn't work.